We sailed from the
Florida Keys to the
Virgin Islands via the Thorny Path April-June. I thought it might be helpful if I threw in some generalizations about the costs across the
route. Nothing new here, but here is a rough ranking from most expensive to least expensive with color commentary. The usual caveats apply, YMMV. Interested about your experiences.
Bahamas - Not everything is more expensive in The
Bahamas. But, a trip to the market or
fuel dock can be a bit of a shock to the
budget. We found some deals on locally raised vegetables and eggs in
Georgetown and on
Long Island. We did not visit the Abacos. Eating out can be the same
price as
buying provisions. We paid $6 per gallon for
diesel at Great Inagua.
Water can be $0.40 per gallon or more.
BVI - Outside of the main supermarkets and cash & carries in Road Town, provisions in the BVIs are pricey. Part of this is the great prevalence of
charter boat tourism. Affluent people on
vacation don’t mind paying $32 for Mahi Mahi and rice. The larger markets on Virgin Gorda are a taxi ride from an anchorage. The BVIs continue to add more
fees for cruisers - 5%-20% duty, Cruising
fees, $1/foot port authority fee, National Park Trust
mooring fee,
Fishing licenses for
boat and individuals, search and
rescue fee, environmental fee, exit fee… the
government is in an escalating
money grab from foreigners. Many
anchorages have been carpet bombed with pay for use moorings.
Diesel averages $3.68 per gallon.
Water, where available, is a reasonable
price.
USVI - Next to the
BVI, the USVI are a
cheap option. No
customs fees for check in/out or other
funny fees. St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix have supermarkets where prices average 30% over the US mainland with dry provisions much less and packaged foods more. Eating out is about 30% more than US standard prices; you can find happy hour deals and specials that bring that down. With the National Park at St. John, there are fewer reasons to visit the BVIs other than to get further East before your hop to St. Martin. The
Virgin Islands enacted sin
taxes on
beer, wine, liquor and tobacco which make Cruzan
Rum $17.99 per half gallon compared to $14.99 per half gallon in New Hampshire. You can find diesel for $3.50 per gallon.
Florida Keys - Provisions prices are in alignment with metropolitan grocery stores and are pretty US standard. During high season you can spend as much as you like on a meal out, but there are good deals to be found.
Puerto Rico - Provisions are frequently less expensive than US prices. Fresh vegetables are widely available. Cases of cans of Medalla
beer can be found for $19.99. Add 11.5% sales tax. US big box stores, chandleries,
service providers are cheaper than mainland
USA.
Dominican Republic - We were blown away by our first visit to the DR. We found
cheap provisions and lower prices in general, especially outside the tourist areas. Some of the brands were different, but
commercial grade. We bought beef and pork for $2.50/lb, chicken for $1.75/lb and eggs were $1.25 a dozen for farm eggs. The diesel
fuel was also reasonably priced at $3.39 per gallon.
Cheers, RickG